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I recently installed a new toilet and the old water supply hose doesn't reach. So I bought a new longer one and wanted to swap it out.

The old hose just doesn't want to release. I've pulled it, tried to unscrew it (it turns), pushed it and nothing works.

enter image description here enter image description here

The next thing I think I'll try is cutting this hose right above the threads, or else get a new shutoff valve, but I'm a beginner and I'm worried that this might be the wrong move.


I have a manufactured home, so my plumbing is unusual.
Rookie Question: I was thinking about cutting it with my PVC cutter. Is this a bad idea?
I ended up cutting the tube just above the valve (the cut included the inside tube).

I was lucky to have a friend come by, because I was convinced that I just messed things up (the hose didn't fit at first). He did the final cleanup of the plastic and then the new hose fit perfectly.

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  • try some vinegar
    – Ruskes
    Nov 1, 2022 at 4:22
  • It doesn't hurt to have two shutoff valves in a row. You could cut the PEX some number of inches above the plastic shutoff valve connection and install a nice metal push-on shutoff valve on the flat cut end.
    – Armand
    Nov 1, 2022 at 5:30

4 Answers 4

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As Armand said there's a flared barb going inside the pipe and it's doing its job which is to keep the pipe attached to the valve.

You have several options but I'm not sure which one would be best...

To remove the PEX pipe from the existing valve... if the valve was metal you could simply cut the pipe lengthwise with a box cutter, but it is plastic, cutting would damage the fitting and cause a leak, so it would be a bad idea. So you can heat it. Using a hot air blower could be hazardous because the valve is also made of plastic, so you'd have to make really sure the temperature isn't too high. Another way to soften PEX is boiling water, this makes sure the temperature doesn't get too high and damage the fitting. Perhaps wrapping a towel around it and pouring some boiling water on it. You'd have to protect the floor first.

Now suppose you remove the pex, now you want to install a braided hose. It won't fit because the flared barb that's supposed to go inside the PEX tube is still there on the valve. So you'd be back to square one.

In fact it would be much simpler to cut the PEX close to the fitting in the first picture that still has a broken yellow piece of the old toilet fitting stuck in. Assuming you don't have a PEX pipe cutter, you can use a box cutter (wear gloves) but don't cut it too close to the valve, you need to leave enough length to cut it again in case you screw up and cut it sideways.

Then if you don't have any special tools you can get a brass PEX compression fitting that mates with your PEX on one side and your braided hose on the other side.

Make sure you buy the proper braided hose, male/female, screw fitting type and diameter, also some come with elbows at the end, that could be useful. These hoses don't like to bend at tight angles, it damages the braid and then bursts a few years later, so sometimes it's better to pick a longer one and make a circle rather than a short one that ends up bent into a Z shape. Having it loose with plenty of wiggling room will also prevent the hose from bending every time someone sits on the toilet.

enter image description here It would look better to use a PEX-PEX compression fitting to make the PEX longer, then another compression fitting to connect the toilet, but I guess you're not going to buy a whole roll of PEX just for the tiny length you actually need, so the braided hose should be much cheaper.

Basically there's one important rule in plumbing: when there's a pipe coming out of a wall, and you have to cut it, you should always cut it as far away from the wall as practical for what you want to install. Because if you cut it too short, and later (maybe 10 years later) find out you need an extra inch, then you pull on it, it doesn't come out of the wall, and then you have a bad day.

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  • My local big-box stores sell PEX in 3-5 foot sections. Something short like that could be used for a PEX-PEX repair without having to buy a 100' roll.
    – FreeMan
    Nov 1, 2022 at 15:10
  • I was thinking about cutting it with my PVC cutter. Is this a bad idea?
    – David Elm
    Nov 1, 2022 at 23:00
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    If you got the ratchet pipe cutter like this one it will work fine for PEX, that's what everyone uses, just be careful to cut it straight and perpendicular, not at an funny angle.
    – bobflux
    Nov 2, 2022 at 8:14
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cut the pex about 4 inches north of the shut off and install this sharkbite You only need a tool to cut the pex and a new 3/8 to toilet connection hose. I have used these on many of the homes I work on with both Pex and cpvc. No problems.

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This photo of a similar fitting suggests what it may look like underneath - the flared barb seen there may allow rotating the PEX while keeping it hard to pull off.

enter image description here

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  • Your pipe is slightly transparent. You can SEE the barbs, just like in this picture, in YOUR picture. A little GENTLE heat, and a few nicks with a hack saw carefully through the pipe and not the valve, and it'll come off.
    – jay613
    Nov 1, 2022 at 14:05
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If I were to come across something that looked like this, I would carefully apply some heat to soften up the pipe. Use a heat gun set to low, and slowly work one side and then the other until it's soft enough to remove. Don't try to slice it off, or you'll run a big risk of nicking the fitting and ending up with a drip.

If it's PEX-A you will also need an expansion tool in order to stretch the line enough to get it over the fitting. If this fitting is actually sealed using a screw ring, you may be able to just gently heat up the new pipe as well to allow you to push it in to place. I've never actually seen a shutoff precisely like the one you have there.

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  • I was planning on replacing this with a standard stainless steel braided hose.
    – David Elm
    Nov 1, 2022 at 4:14
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    The Sharkbite shutoff is made to use a standard 3/8 braided toilet hose. No heat, no expanders, just cut the Pex, push on the Sharkbite until it bottoms, remove the nut and ferule on the threaded end and screw on your braided hose. It is the simplest solution to your problem.
    – RMDman
    Nov 1, 2022 at 16:26

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